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Wednesday, 16 May 2012

Westminster Cathedral to host religious freedom rally

Wilson Chowdhry will be carrying the cross at the front of the procession at tomorrows night of vigil held at Westminster Cathedral tomorrow. He will be leading the Pakistani delegation into Westminster Cathedral and will read from Scripture after a few words from Bishop Emeritus Michael Nazir Ali. Come and join us...

At an
upcoming "Night of Witness" event at Westminster Cathedral, leading Catholic
bishops will call for action to protect religious freedom in countries where
persecution threatens the survival of Christianity.

Stephen
Anjum, a Pakistani who fled with his family to the United Kingdom, plans to
attend the event. He has firsthand experience of
persecution.

"People in
the U.K. and elsewhere in the West are simply not aware of the scale of the
problems that we face in my country," he told Aid to the Church in
Need.

Extremists
had alleged that Anjum's son had insulted Islam's Prophet Mohammed and they shot
at Anjum's wife.

"We need
major moral support so that people in my country can be safe from violence and
intimidation," he said.

The May 17
event intends to help Christians like Anjum. The event will involve music,
dance, video and prayer.

It will begin
with a 5:30 p.m. Mass at the cathedral celebrated by Bishop Declan Lang of
Clifton. He chairs the Department of International Affairs for the Catholic
Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

After Mass,
in the cathedral piazza there will be a rally for religious freedom. Archbishop
Vincent Nichols of Westminster will welcome Archbishop Joseph Coutts of Karachi,
Pakistan and Bishop Joannes Zakaria of Luxor, Egypt.

They and
Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir Ali, an interfaith expert originally from
Pakistan, will address attendees. Planning to attend the event is Archbishop
emeritus of Southwark Kevin McDonald, chairman of the bishops' conference
committee for relations with other religions.

"Night of
Witness" performers include the Catholic pop group ooberfuse, singer Helen Munt,
the West End Gospel Choir, Urdu-language singer and musician Hammad Baily, the
Eliot Smith Dance Company, and Catholic performance poet Sarah de Nordwall, who
is also the event's emcee.

The event
will return to Westminster Cathedral for a prayer vigil for the suffering
Church. Readings and music will commemorate the lives of those killed for their
faith, including Pakistan religious freedom advocate Shahbaz Bhatti, Indian
priest Fr. Mernard Digal and Fr. Ragheed Gami of Iraq.

At least 20
Christians of Pakistani origin now living in Lancashire will take part in the
event, including Vincent Masih.

"People think
persecution is happening a long way away and there is nothing they can do about
it but that is not the case. We are going out of our way to be a sign of hope
for those who suffer today," said Masih, whose family fled Pakistan in the
1960s.

On May 17 Aid
to the Church in Need, an international Catholic pastoral charity, is launching
a report "Christians and the Struggle for Religious Freedom" to draw attention
to the importance of combating religious persecution. The report chronicles
violent and intimidating acts in many of the countries that worst offend against
religious freedom.

"Those
Christians facing sustained violence, especially in parts of Asia, Africa and
the Middle East, show an extraordinary courage that should serve as an
inspiration to those of us who do not face those dangers but are still called
upon to give a witness to our faith," Bishop Lang said in the report's
foreword.

"We are
called to enter more deeply into solidarity with those who suffer for the Church
and to do so through prayer, practical support and by raising our voices about
this often-hidden crisis."

3 comments:

Greetings!May God bless all for raising such an important issue and in recent days it has become so normal to accuse any Christian for blasphemy.I would like to offer my services and assistance if i can do anything for such a cause? I'm currently based in UAE.

I established Free Legal Aid for the persecuted Christians under the name & style Global Save Lives Foundation and need financial help.Brother Wilson announce from your platform to helpour newly established office in LHR,Pakistan. I readBrother Zimmi based in UAE and request him also tosend me email at afmassey2011 @yahoo.comAgnes MasseyLawyer High Court LHR

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